Would you get a degree for an extra $500 a week?

I've been kicking around the idea of getting a degree just to say I've gotten it, but I already make as much as my coworkers who've received their Masters.

A degree, while it is a wonderful thing to have, does not always equate to employment. This is a sad, harsh truth, but a truth nevertheless. What more and more employers are looking for is job experience.

I am one of the old school people who think you do NOT need a college education to be successful in life. Bear with me here:

I am an employer in some form of a supervisory state. I am looking to fullfill a mid level management position in charge of 20 people, and the various intricacies involved.

I get 2 applicants, one who started working when he was 16, and is now 22. Upon a review of his references, his resume, etc, he was an outstanding worker, solid work ethic, no discipline problems, showed up, did his job, and never complained. So here is a 6 year solid history, great references, and he scored well on the interview.

The other is a female applicant, 22 as well, but has never worked a day in her life, mommy and daddy have paid everything (by her own admission), and she has a four year degree in business management. She has a solid 3.8 GPA, incredibly smart, did her homework about the company, and for all intents and purposes smoked the interview. She also has three letters of recommendation from her professors who insist that she has a solid work ethic, dedicated individual, and can accomplish anything thrown at her. However, the resume is extremely light and there is no character references as far as what performance on an actual job is like. Work is one thing, school is another.

As qualified as the female applicant is, bottom line is I am going with my 16 year old wonder kid in this scenario. I know I will have little to no problems or directions I need to give the guy, and he s trainable. How can you train someone who already has a full cup (the degree?)

End of story: I do not have a degree but am very close to one. I am debating whether or not I need one however most major airlines want their pilots to have degrees. I am quite comfortable where I am financially, and if I stick with the regionals I will be finishing in the 150K plus range for the rest of my career. Really I think it should be a matter of choice. But I do not think a degree is worth it.

This is just my .02 cents.

When I got in the Army I already had my Bachelor's, but I had an NCO who was ETSing who tried to tell me that his 2 extra years of experience would get him job before my degree would get me one. It took us calling the agency that he was trying to work for in order for them to explain to him that a degree was preferred over not having one, regardless of TIS. Being in the Military for some employers is just icing on the proverbial cake.

I am actually already a Master's degreed Nurse...am considering a PhD after retirement. Time will tell....it will be based on long term employment and benefits/retirement package to tell me if it is worthwhile for ME or not.....

I like the Logistcs Field, Transportation Field.

With a daughter in college, I can tell you that $500 a week is pretty darn close to what a degree COSTS (at least if attending full time at Texas A&M). With that being said, yes, the fact that I'm paying for one obviously suggests that I recommend getting one if you can. One thing to add though: A degree doesn't amount to a hill of beans if you don't apply yourself. I pretty much guarantee that a degree would not change my income, but at the same time, there are a ton of jobs out there that I wouldn't qualify for without a degree.

I well remember my first class in statistics in college. The professor began with an anecdote about averages in which a man with one foot frozen in a block of ice and the other roasting in a furnace is, on the average, comfortable. Of course not.

In today's world, I would go with Twain's observation about "lies, damned lies, and statistics".

Statistics relating to employment and unemployment have been manipulated greatly in recent times to favor one political view or another. I have seen, for example, credible evidence that the current unemployment rate would well exceed 12% if we employed the same criteria used as recently as the Clinton Administration.

Thus, when someone begins explaining that veterans with bachelor's degrees earn an average of $500 more per week, please forgive me for doubting.

I have degrees, a college degree and a law degree. Although I never practiced law, they were useful in opening doors to opportunities. However, it was my skills that earned money. Thus, whenever teenagers beset me with their concerns about college attendance or which major should they pursue, I encouraged them to make their own decisions. However, I advised them concurrently to gain skills. You can always survive with a skill. A degree is often little more than a decoration on the wall. And, of course, certain professions, principally law and medicine, pay better than others and they require degrees. These and others of their kind create artifacts in such statistical analysis.

It depends upon what the degree is in. Will you make enough to pay off student loans? Will there be positions available in that career field. I started taking classes while on active duty in 1986. I earned an associates degree in 1991 and a BS-Secondary Education degree in 1995. I trained to be a social studies teacher (a career field that has few openings). I am now going back for a diploma in a vocational field. I strongly believe education is important, but it is even more important to look at the career field's average pay, work conditions, projected available positions, and opportunities for advancement within that career.

I have seven children. Two are working on gaining their A&P aircraft maintenance degree, one is working on an automotive service technician/automotive engineering degree, one is working on a nursing degree, one is an boat motor apprentice in a marina, one is going to barber college, and one is disabled and working in a sheltered workshop. I encouraged each child to follow their interests, but to do so with an eye towards employment.

I sure hope other veterans are enjoying the money, because I'm not seeing it and have a Masters, lol...

In all seriousness though, while I don't think college is for everyone, EVERYONE needs some sort of post-secondary credentialing to be competitive in today's job market. The days of coming into a job with a high school diploma or less, starting at the bottom and going on to run a company are gone.

I know a lot of folks, veteran and non who were in a similar situation (little to no education and in a leadership position) who had the bottom fall out when the economy tanked. Because they had no education, they had to take a CONSIDERABLE cut in pay with their new positions (for those that even found jobs, many did not).